By Jeff Faraudo
#WCChoops columnist | ARCHIVES
 
The Loyola Marymount goldfish continue to swim through the bracket at the University Credit Union West Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament.
 
The goldfish, er, Lions, won a second game at the WCC tournament for the first time since 2006, beating fifth-seeded and defending champion Portland 74-56 on Friday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
 
Seeded No. 8, LMU has advanced to the Saturday quarterfinal against No. 4 Santa Clara because it has put its 5-18 regular-season record in the past.
 
“We talk about how the happiest creatures on the face of the planet are goldfish because they have a memory of like seven seconds,” LMU coach Charity Elliott said. “We have used that so many times. When you play well, you need to be like a goldfish. When you’ve played poorly you need to be like a goldfish. 
 
"It’s a new season. What has happened is in the past . . . who cares? It’s over. There’s nothing we can do about that. We’ve got to be goldfish. Let’s move forward.”
 
Sophomore Khari Clark scored a career-high for the second day in a row, notching 22 points, and Jasmine Jones and Chelsea Gipson each scored 13 for the Lions (7-18). LMU’s pressure forced the Pilots (12-12) into 19 turnovers, and the Lions were fueled by runs of 18-2 in the first half and 11-0 in the second half.
 
Elliott has only eight players in Vegas and uses just seven of them in her rotation so fatigue is a potential issue for Saturday’s game against Santa Clara. The Lions and Broncos split two regular-season games. 
 
The Lions will rely on their trainer to recharge their batteries and the momentum they have created on the floor so far. 
 
“At this point very little is Xs and Os. It’s making sure our minds are well and we’re ready to fight,” Elliott said. “I know they’re getting tired. Sometimes they ask me for subs and I ignored them. What do you want me to do?”
 
Elliott won’t be surprised by whatever comes next.
 
“These kids I’m just telling you, they just amaze me. They fight, they refuse to go down, some things are clicking,” she said. “I’m just so proud of them because they don’t quit. They just have this look in their eyes that, `We’re not done.’ “

CLARK FINDS HER STRIDE: The Lions have watched sophomore Khari Clark show off her potential daily in practice. But on game nights this season, she averaged a modest 8.7 points through the regular season.
 
But the sophomore forward scored 20 points in LMU’s opening round win over Pepperdine, then had 22 on Friday. 
 
“We’ve seen Khari like this in practice so many times. It’s just something hasn’t clicked for her in games,” Elliott said. “She’s just got a look in her eyes of ‘it’s time.’ We have so much confidence in Khari.”
 
“For me the biggest thing is my confidence,” Clark said. “I keep taking these shots and now that they’re falling means so much. I’m not doing it for myself, but for my team. The motivations fuels me throughout this tournament.”
 
THE PILOTS’ DROUGHT: Portland trailed just 45-42 after All-WCC point guard Haylee Andrews made two free throws with 7:43 left in the third quarter. Six seconds later Andrews picked up her fourth personal foul and went to the bench.
 
The Pilots proceeded to go scoreless for the next 9 minutes, 59 seconds, allowing LMU to extend its lead to 56-42 before Alex Fowler finally broke the drought with a basket at 7:44 of the fourth quarter.
 
“It really hurt us not having Haylee in there. She’s such a key player for our team,” said Fowler, who led the Pilots with 26 points. “It was a bit difficult to find rhythm again.”
 
Fowler, the All-WCC sophomore forward, finished the game shooting 11 for 21 from the field. The rest of the Pilots were a combined 11 for 38. Portland shot just 2 for 12 from the 3-point arc.
 
NO MAGIC THIS SEASON: A year ago, after being picked last in the preseason WCC coaches poll, the Pilots surprised everyone in Vegas by winning the conference tournament. They were 9-8 in conference play this season, but could not conjure postseason magic on Friday.
 
Coach Michael Meek said he’s proud of the foundation four seniors helped create. But he said the two seasons were vastly different, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
“It’s easy to compare to last year because it was such an incredible, magical run,” he said. “I think everyone knows with COVID it kind of changed everything. I know we’re going to come out stronger because of everything we went through this year. I do feel like we’re capable of being better.”
 
STAT OF THE GAME: Portland failed to score on 16 consecutive possessions after Haylee Andrews left the floor with her fourth foul at 7:37 of the third quarter.
 
QUOTE OF THE GAME: “The last couple games they definitely have caught a good rhythm and that team is definitely one that could continue to win a lot of games.” — Portland coach Michael Meek on Loyola Marymount
 
Saint Mary’s 69, Pacific 55
 
Six days after losing by 19 points to Pacific, the Saint Mary’s women flipped the script. The seventh-seeded Gaels used a stunning 30-3 run that spanned portions of three quarters to race to a 69-55 victory..
 
Who could have seen this coming? Saint Mary’s had lost eight of its previous nine games. Pacific had won five in a row. The Gaels were not deterred.
 
“I’m just extremely proud of our team and the effort and energy they put into today’s game,” coach Paul Thomas said. “Everybody knows we haven’t had a true Saint Mary’s women’s basketball year. We’ve had some ups and way more downs.
 
“I think we did a really good job of playing to win, and I thought that was the key.”
 
The Gaels (7-18) advance to Saturday’s quarterfinal where they face No. 3 seed USF at 2 p.m. The Dons beat Saint Mary’s by margins of 17 and 27 points. Then again, the Gaels lost 73-54 to Pacific just last Saturday.
 
Noting the 22 turnovers his team committed Friday, Thomas said the Gaels will have to play better still to beat San Francisco. 
 
“I think we have to build on today. We have to be better than we were today,” he said, suggesting that following the scouting report will be key. “If we can do that, which we proved today we can do, I think we’ll put ourselves in position to be successful.”
 
The Tigers (11-11) led 19-14 late in the first quarter when everything changed. The Gaels closed the period with a 7-0 run, then outscored Pacific 20-3 in the second quarter as the Tigers shot 1 for 15 in the quarter.
 
A 3-pointer by Taycee Wedin pushed the Gaels’ lead to 23 points at 44-21 to complete the 30-3 burst before Pacific’s Liz Smith finally ended the barrage with a putback shot at 7 minutes of the third period.
 
Pacific used defensive aggression to battle back within seven points early in the fourth quarter but could not complete the comeback. Thomas told his team to anticipate the Tigers’ run and that he would not use a timeout but expected them to play through it.
 
“When those types of things happen it just makes you as a coach extremely proud of your team,” he said.
 
Taycee Wedin scored 21 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead the Gaels, Madeline Holland added 17 points and Emily Codding scored 13.
 
“We knew we could win this game,” Wedin said. “We practiced hard this week and we made changes and I think we came out with a lot of energy on defense. Defense is what won it today.”
 
CODDING GIVES GAELS A LIFT: Senior wing Emily Codding missed the second half of last season after a knee injury, finally returning to action in mid-January. Then she suffered another lower-leg setback after just three games this season, sidelined again until Friday.
 
In her first game since Jan. 23, she gave the Gaels more than 13 points and five rebounds, her coach said.
 
“Emily’s obviously been here four times. They all have a little bit of nerves  ... we all know we’re one and done,” he said. “She has that calmness because of the experience. She brought that to our team. We’re a different team when she’s out there.”
 
BIDDING HIGGINS FAREWELL: Higgins came to Pacific three years ago as a transfer from USC and has been one of the WCC’s most impactful players. The league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 and again this season, she had 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven steals on Friday after a scoreless first half.
 
She finishes her career with 282 steals over three seasons, including 26 games of at least five.
 
Asked to summarize her value to the program, Pacific coach Bradley Davis said, “I don’t know that I can put that into words. She’s such an impressive player. She’s Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in her career, and honestly if you look at her stats and I don’t get why she’s not Player of the Year as well.”
 
Higgins averaged 16.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists this season, is second nationally with 3.8 steals per game, and shot 87 percent from the free throw line. She was second in the WCC in both rebounding and free throw accuracy.
 
“She’s just a do-it-all type of player,” Davis said. “Beyond that, she’s just been such a great representation of Pacific, our university, our program. Couldn’t appreciate her more.”
 
STAT OF THE GAME: Pacific shot 1 for 15 from the field in the second quarter while Saint Mary’s took control.
 
QUOTE OF THE GAME: “I just think we kind of let them get into their rhythm and get into their groove. We let them get the shots they wanted,” she said. “And offensively we just kind of hit a wall. I think we shot like 6 percent in the second quarter, which just isn’t us. We took some rushed shots and played a lot of 1-on-1 basketball.” — Pacific senior Valerie Higgins